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MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE2004 Regular Session To: Rules By: Senator(s) Chaney, Michel, Posey, Morgan,
Hyde-Smith, Harvey, Ross, Frazier, Kirby, Thames, Butler, Carmichael, Clarke, Gollott, Harden, Hewes, Jackson (11th), Lee (35th), Little, Pickering, Thomas, White, Williamson, Jackson (32nd) Senate Concurrent Resolution 580 (As Adopted by Senate and House) A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING THE
LIFE, CAREER AND LEGACY OF CHARITABLE AND PUBLIC SERVICE OF JACKSON, MISSISSIPPI, BUSINESSMAN WARREN A. HOOD.WHEREAS, Warren A. Hood, a Jackson, Mississippi, businessman, civic leader and friend to many
charitable organizations, died on Tuesday, March 2, 2004; and WHEREAS, in his day, he was the leading businessman of the state, and he will be remembered for his industrial expertise, his involvement with
the redevelopment of downtown Jackson and the innumerable charities he helped; and WHEREAS, former Governor William Winter, one of Warren Hood's personal friends and a fellow church member at Fondren
Presbyterian Church, called Warren Hood one of Mississippi's greatest citizen leaders. He never held public office, nor did he aspire to public office, but he left a mark on this state that has not been
exceeded or even equaled by most of the public leaders of this state; and WHEREAS, Warren Hood, 87, began his career in 1940 at a small sawmill near his home in Copiah County and went on to acquire
numerous lumber and diversified manufacturing plants under the umbrella of Hood Industries, Inc. Before the company's merger with the Masonite Corporation in 1970, Hood Industries was the largest producer of
southern yellow pine east of the Mississippi River; and WHEREAS, Warren Hood served on Masonite Corporation's Board of Directors and Executive Committee until 1982, when the lumber and woodlands operations
were spun off to form Timber Realization Company. He served as a general partner until the partnership was liquidated in 1987. He worked with local economic development officers for about two years to find a
buyer for the DeSoto Corporation that made furniture primarily for Sears and had announced plans to close in 1983. When no buyer came forward, Hood joined with family members and purchased the facility in
Jackson and operated Hood Furniture Manufacturing Company until it closed in 1986; and WHEREAS, Warren Hood held a major stake in about 50 businesses that ranged from Southern Bag Corporation in Yazoo City
to Ole Diz Charcoal Briquets in Pachuta; and WHEREAS, Warren Hood, who did not graduate from college but received honorary doctorates from Belhaven College and Millsaps College, contributed to numerous
universities and schools and raised funds for countless charitable organizations. He enacted a policy at Hood Industries of paying the tuition for any child of an employee who wanted to attend community
college. Hood served for 26 years on Belhaven College's Board of Trustees, and the college's library is named in his honor; and WHEREAS, one of Hood's greatest legacies is the Warren Hood Scout Reservation
which he donated to the Andrew Jackson Council of Boy Scouts of America. The camp opened in 1987 and covers 1,700 acres about 12 miles west of Hazlehurst in Copiah County; and WHEREAS, survivors include
daughters Kay Adams and Peggy Louis of Jackson, and sons Warren A. Hood, Jr., of Hattiesburg and James W. Hood of Jackson. Hood's wife, Elsie Meadows Hood, died in 2002; and WHEREAS, Warren Hood worked
tirelessly to improve the City of Jackson and headed civic organizations such as the Jackson Metro Chamber of Commerce; and WHEREAS, Mr. Hood was a self-made man who was kind, generous and could be trusted
implicitly, and it is with sadness that we note the passing of this model businessman and Mississippi citizen: NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend the life, career and legacy of charitable and public service of Jackson businessman Warren A. Hood, and express to his surviving family the
sympathy of the Legislature on his passing. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to the surviving family of Warren A. Hood and be made available to the Capitol Press Corps. |
